ADVANCED OBEDIENCE COURSE AT SEE SPOT SIT!

This course does not run concurrently. However, it is offered on other days/evenings so go ahead and sign up! You can contact us at seespotsitar@gmail.com for information regarding additional course date offerings. 🙂

If you have completed a group or private obedience course with See Spot Sit, or if your dog has completed a basic obedience course elsewhere or has obtained the AKC Canine Good Citizen certification, please come join us for the Advanced Obedience course that will begin on July 25, 2018. This course is going to be TOO MUCH FUN! We will cover some great stuff, including sit, down and stay from a distance, perfection of hand signals (no voice commands allowed); scent (nose) work for finding finding objects on command, retrieving them and bringing them to you; and, some more really cool stuff that I can’t give away yet!!!!

This course is 6 weeks in duration and will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings. Each class will last 45 minutes to an hour. Classes will be held at See Spot Sit’s location, 14717 Hwy. 107, Sherwood, Arkansas, but we will be going to outside locations as well in order to challenge you and your dog with real world distractions.

THE PAWSOME SPECIAL: 25% off Group Classes or a private assessment here at See Spot Sit’s facility, if you sign up and prepay prior to December 24, 2017. Below are some questions to ask yourself that will help you decide whether getting a dog is the right choice for you. Tomorrow’s blog will give you some tips about choosing the right dog for your family and lifestyle!

Lots of people will be getting puppies for Christmas. Puppies make a great present IF you choose the right puppy for your lifestyle and family. Please research thoroughly and ask yourself some basic questions:

1. What will your life be like in five or even 10 years?

2. How many dogs have you owned on your own (not with your parents)?

3. How much time can you dedicate to your pet each day?

4. Can you afford to own an animal?
Remember, there are expected and unexpected vet care costs, food, training, pet sitting and/or boarding, etc. costs involved.

5. If you already have a pet, is that animal likely to accept a new housemate?

6. What do you realistically expect from a new dog and what do you hope to get out of the relationship?

7. Do you have the time and resources needed for proper training?

8. How much household destruction can you tolerate and are you willing to put in the time to start teaching the dog immediately what is his/hers to chew on and what is yours? Do you know how to do that?

9. Is everyone in the household on board with getting a pet?

10. Do you have small children?
No dog, no matter the breed, comes ready to live with children (especially small ones). If you have children, you must first teach them the rules of safe pet conduct: No teasing, pulling, pushing or climbing on animals,” Arden says. You’ll also need to spend ample time meeting different animals, so you can observe tolerance levels, responsiveness to training and the ability to bounce back from jarring incidents. Ask yourself: “Can I do this in a way that my children will understand and be able to follow?”

Recently, a woman took her dog to the dog park for some fun and exercise. She envisioned him frolicking with other dogs and coming home happy and tired. Instead, the poor dog came away needing surgery to save his life, along with more than 10 puncture wounds. I saw the photos; suffice it to say they were both sickening and heart-wrenching. Just a few days later, another woman posted on Facebook about an encounter at the same dog park. Her dog had been attacked, had suffered serious damage to a limb, and needed to be rushed to the vet. The owner of the other dog refused to acknowledge that her dog had done anything wrong, and fled the scene.

Fortunately, both of these dogs will recover—physically, at least. As anyone who has ever suffered a bodily assault knows, the toll goes far beyond physical injury. The extent of emotional damage to any dog who has been attacked depends on the seriousness of the attack and on the temperament of the individual dog. For some dogs this type of encounter can, understandably, result in a fear of other dogs. And as any trainer worth her salt knows, that can translate to fear-based reactivity, which most people call aggression.

Does every encounter at a dog park result in physical or emotional damage to dogs? Of course not. But you might be surprised at how many dogs are having no fun at all, despite what their owners might think. When I was putting together my seminar Dissecting the Dynamics of Dog-Dog Play(click the link for the DVD), I needed lots of video of dogs playing. One of the places I spent time at was our local dog park. I filmed hours and hours of various breeds and sizes of dogs playing together. Although I was already aware that some dogs enjoyed playing more than others and that some encounters were definitely not positive, when I reviewed the footage in slow motion, I was shocked. Sure, there were examples of safe, non-threatening play. But there was also a myriad of instances in which dogs were practically traumatized as their owners stood by, totally unaware. One example comes instantly to mind: Within seconds of a man and his medium-sized mixed breed dog entering the park, the dog was rushed by other dogs who wanted to inspect him, as is typical in any canine group. But one of the greeters clearly scared the newcomer, who then lunged and snapped. The owner gave his dog a verbal warning for that defensive action and kept walking deeper into the park. Another dog approached and this time, with his tail tucked, the dog snapped and lunged more intently. The owner grabbed him by the collar and chastised him. Over the next five minutes, the dog had four more encounters that resulted in his being punished by the owner, each time more harshly. It would have been clear to anyone versed in canine body language that the dog was afraid, and was becoming more and more reactive because he was on the defense. It was difficult to stand there filming, and I considered aborting to go and speak with him. Just then, a woman who was a regular there approached and struck up a conversation with the man. Thankfully, she was able to convince him that his dog was scared and to leave the park. I’m sad to say that this was far from being the only negative encounter I filmed. More importantly, this sort of thing happens daily at dog parks across the world.

By now you’re probably thinking, Gee Nicole, how do you really feel? The thing is, I’ve seen the flip side as well. I’ve watched a group of ladies who meet at the park most mornings with their dogs. They’re savvy about canine body language, and although they enjoy socializing with each other as their dogs play, they constantly monitor the action. If play begins to become too heated, they create a time out by calling their dogs to them for a short break before releasing them to play again. In this way, they prevent arousal from escalating into aggression. The dogs all know each other and for the most part get along well. I have absolutely no problem with this type of scenario. Unfortunately, it’s far from being the norm. The typical scene at a dog park includes a random assortment of dogs whose owners range from being absolutely ignorant about dog behavior to being well informed, with most of the population falling somewhere in the middle, tending toward the lower end. And why not? They’re not dog professionals, but loving owners who simply want their dogs to get some exercise and have a good time. In most cases, they’re not aware of the subtle or not-so-subtle signals that could indicate danger, or even that dangers exist. Comments like, “Ah, they’re dogs, they’ll work it out,” and “Oh, he’s fine” abound. It’s strange if you think about it: if you were the parent of a young child, would you send him in blindly to play with a group of kids that possibly included bullies and criminals? Wouldn’t you at the very least stand there and observe the play for a few minutes before allowing him to join the fray? If you did allow the child to participate, would you not keep an eye on him and leave if you felt there was a potential threat? And yet, at the dog park, the majority of owners never do those things.

In the best of all worlds, there would be mandatory education for dog park attendees as well as a knowledgeable staff member or volunteer at every park to monitor the action and to stop dogs who are known to be aggressive from entering in the first place. Perhaps a membership model would make this possible. Unfortunately, that is not the reality. And so, it falls to we owners to be advocates and protectors for our dogs. That means if you absolutely insist on taking your dog to a dog park, that you scan the environment before entering, that you monitor your dog’s play even while chatting with other owners, and that you intervene even to the point of leaving if necessary when you feel something is not right, even if that means facing social ostracism. Personally, I prefer play dates with known quantities rather than a park full of potential aggressors who might do serious physical or emotional damage to my dogs. If I do take mine into the dog park to run around, it’s during off hours when the park is empty. You might find this over the top or even paranoid. That’s okay. If you heard all of the stories I’ve heard over the years and seen all of the damage I’ve seen, you might think twice about whether dog parks are worth the risk.

See Spot Sit is now offering boarding for your furry family members. Going on Vacation? Going on a business trip? Let us keep your pooch in our home! We keep staff on site 24/7 so that som
one will be there to give your dog everything they need and more! our goal is to give you the peace of mind that comes with leaving your beloved pet with a good friend or trusted family member.

If you already have a trip planned or you want to plan a trip, pre-pay and get 15% off for boarding or board and train. Board and train means obedience and/or help rehabilitating a behavior that you aren’t crazy about! We can lay the foundation for a new behavior and help you learn some new behaviors too!
2A

My belief is that our behavior and actions greatly affect the behavior and actions of our dogs! This belief is well founded and proven out by lots of studies done by people more educated and lots smarter than me! Luckily, we can reap the benefits of those studies! I have devoted my life to YOUR dogs and mine and learning what makes them “tick” (pardon the pun).

Let us welcome your dog into our family while you are gone and save some money by pre-paying for services!

For more information, please fill out the “Contact Us” form on the home page.

We do small play group socialization and group dogs together not just by size but by social skills and level of comfort. Never more than 4-5 dogs per human. Here, we treat the dogs as part of the family and I live on premises. We also offer some training services while boarding if needed. They won’t be in the kennel or crate (your preference) except for sleeping at night and rest time during the day. Dogs MUST have some down time during the day. They naturally will choose to rest or nap several times during a day. If they do not get that, they can become stressed and overwrought, leading to stress and anxiety which can cause them to be “grumpy” and reactive.

At night, some of them will sleep on a bed in the “doggy sleep room” without being crated or kenneled if that is what they are accustomed to and they sleep through the night.

I want people to feel that they are leaving their dog or dogs with a trusted friend or family. This work is my passion and I love every dog who comes through my path. I have worked with over 1800 dogs for training and/or behavior rehabilitation.

Pricing:

Boarding, with socialization is $45 a night. Each additional dog is $30 per night.

If a dog has aggression issues, we will assess them first and depending on the level of aggression, the price may be different. Severely aggressive dogs will be required to receive behavior modification if they are to be boarded here so Board and Train prices will apply. We hope that if a dog has aggression issues, their human guardian will choose to allow us to help them while they are here. That can always be discussed at the time of intake.

All shot records are required of course and food needs to be provided, especially if they are on a special brand or type.

Our “stock food” is 4-Health from Tractor supply and is a very high quality food. We use the grain free choices.

Sometimes our dogs can be shy or even fearful around other dogs and people. Sometimes they are young and just need proper socialization. What we offer are small groups for those dogs and they are with people and stable dogs so they can learn proper play skills and learn to feel confident and safe in our human world. They are also in a “home” setting since this is my home 🙂

Half day: $15 (3 hours). Packages of 10 visits (to be used within 3 months) can be purchased at a 5% discount. Larger packages receive the same discount.

If they need to come every day, 5 days a week, for a half day or whole day, it’s 5% off for half day, full week packages and 10% off for full day, full week packages. 🙂